Rubber gasket with plastic molding insert

ABSTRACT

A gasket and decorative trim assembly is provided for mounting a fixed window panel such as a windshield relative to the window opening in a vehicle and for sealing the joint between the window panel and vehicle. The assembly includes a gasket portion by which the mounting and sealing is achieved and a trim strip portion which provides the marginal area of the mounted window panel with a decorative appearance. The gasket portion is produced from rubber material and the trim strip portion is interengaged therewith by cooperative slot means in the gasket portion and projection means on the trim portion. The structural relationship between the gasket portion and trim portion provides for the use of narrower gasket components and/or wider trim strip components than heretofore possible.

United States Patent 1 Jackson 1 Oct. 23, 1973 RUBBER GASKET WITI-IPLASTIC MOLDING INSERT [75] Inventor: Norman C. Jackson, Sheffield Lake,

Ohio

[73] Assignee: The Standard Products Company, Cleveland, Ohio [22]Filed: Sept. 22, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 182,738

[52] US. Cl. 52/312, 52/400, 52/718,

161/120 [51] Int. Cl E041 19/02 [58] Field of Search 52/309, 312, 400,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,556,775 6/1951 Oswald52/208 2,772,915 12/1956, Renno 52/400 X 2,612,972 10/1952 Heimgartneret al.... 52/400 3,458,386 7/1969 Shanok et a1. 52/312 FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS Great Britain" 161/117 96 I! 88 .i 94 ii- 92 2" as 90Primary Examiner-Alfred C. Perham Att0rneyMeyer et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A gasket and decorative trim assembly is provided formounting a fixed window panel such as a windshield relative to thewindow opening in a vehicle and for sealing the joint between the windowpanel and vehicle. The assembly includes a gasket portion by which themounting and sealing is achieved and a trim strip portion which providesthe marginal area of the mounted window panel with a decorativeappearance.

The gasket portion is produced from rubber material and the trim stripportion is interengaged therewith by cooperative slot means in thegasket portion and projection means on the trim portion. The structuralrelationship between the gasket portion and trim portion provides forthe use of narrower gasket components and/or wider trim strip componentsthan heretofore possible.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented Oct. 23, 1973 N mm M T m7 MWATTORNEYS RUBBER GASKET WITH PLASTIC MOLDING INSERT The presentinvention relates to the art of resilient gaskets and, moreparticularly, to gasket-and decorative trim structures for mounting apanel relative to an adjacent surface, sealing the joint between thepanel and surface and providing the assembly with a decorativeappearance.

Gasket structures have been provided heretofore for the purpose ofmounting a panel component relative to adjacent surface means in amanner whereby the joint between the panel and surface means is sealedby the gasket against the passage ofair, water, and the liketherebetween. For example, in the automotive industry such gasketstructures are employed to mount a fixed window pane relative to awindow opening defined in the vehicle body. Such a window pane may, forexample, define the windshield of the vehicle and the gasket meansprovides for mounting the windshield relative to the opening therefor inthe vehicle and for sealing the joint between the windshield and vehicleagainst the ingress or leakage of air and water therebetween. Suchgasket structures have an exposed exterior surface which defines, inappearance a peripheral border extending around the window pane orwindshield.

Since gaskets of the above nature are generally made from black rubber,it is desirable to provide decorative means overlying the outer surfaceof the gasket to provide the window pane or windshield with a borderwhich is decorative in appearence. One of the most desirable ways toprovide the gasket with a decorative appearance is by the use of trimstrip means having a decorative outer surface and which isinterconnected with the gasket to overlie the outer surface of thegasket. In the attachment of such a trim strip to a gasket of resilientmaterial certain problems are encountered which, prior to the presentinvention, limited either the width of a trim strip which could beemployed with a gasket of a given width, or limited the narrowness of agasket component which could be employed together with a trim strip ofgiven width. In this respect, it will be appreciated that the materialfrom which the gasket ismade must have sufficient resilience to permitbending thereof to the peripheral contour of the window pane and openingand at the same time assure proper sealing engagement thereof with theunderlying surfaces of the window panel and vehicle. Moreover, theresiliency of the gasket material together with the structure of thegasket must be such that retention of a substantial portion of thewindow pane is assured in the event of an impact thereagainst fromwithin the vehicle such as might occur by the driver or a passengerbeing propelled against the panel upon impact of the vehicle with anobject such as another vehicle. With regard in particular toWindshields, it is today required that about 75 percent of windshieldpanelbe retained in place relative to the vehicle upon an impact of aperson thereagainst such as might occur in an accident involving thevehicle. Thus, the sealing and pane retention capabilities of the gasketcomponent are of primary concern, and the provision of decorative meansfor the gasket must be achieved without adversely effecting the sealingand panel retention capabilities.

Gaskets of the character referred to hereinabove are elongate elementsof suitable resilient material such as rubber and generally include apair of flanges or wings extending longitudinally along opposite sidesthereof for sealing engagement with corresponding underlying surfaces,one of which is. the window panel and the other of which is surfacemeans of the vehicle body. Further, means is provided intermediate thelateral outer ends of the flanges or wings to facilitate mounting of thegasket relative to the vehicle body. The wings are contoured incross-section to resiliently engage the corresponding underlying surfacein sealing relationship with respect thereto, and in order to providethe lateral flexibility necessary to permit the gasket to be bent orcurved to conform with the outer contour of the window panel and windowopening in the vehicle, the wing components are relatively thin in adirection transverse to the outer surface thereof. Accordingly, certainproblems have been encountered heretofore in attempting to provide theouter surface of such a gasket with desired decorative means withouteffecting the sealing, bendability and retention functions of thegasket. In this respect, if it is desired to provide the decorativeappearance by attaching trim strip means to the outer surface of thegasket the trim strip means must be quite narrow relative to the lateralwidth of the gasket. Otherwise, the gasket will not have the necessarylateral and transverse flexibility to assure the desired sealingengagement of the flanges with underlying surfaces and the desiredbending or flexing of the gasket for the gasket to conform to theperipheral contour of the window panel and window opening in thevehicle. Thus, if a wide trim strip is desired the lateral width of thegasket must be increased accordingly to retain the sealing and bendingcapabilities sought. It remains, however, that the relative lateraldimensions of the gasket and trim strip are dependent on the sealing andbending capabilities of the gasket, whereby such a wider gasket whileproviding for a wider trim strip still does not provide a desirablestructure in that the lateral dimension of the trim strip is stillnarrow in comparison to that of the gasket. In other words, the lateraldimension of the trim strip limits the minimum lateral dimension of thegasket which can be' employed in a given situation. Moreover, while atrim strip of desired width can be employed, it will be appreciated thatthe cost of the gasket and trim assembly is considerably increased as aresult of having to employ a wider gasket. Still further, it will beappreciated that there are limits with respect to the maximum width of agasket which can be employed in a given situation-Therefore, it is oftenimpossible to provide a gasket component of a given width with trimstrip means having a desired width relative thereto in order to providethe gasket with the most desirable decorative appearance.

The above problem can, of course, be solved by first assembling thegasketwith respect to thevehicle window panel and window opening andthen attaching separate trim strip means of a desired width thereto,such as by adhesive bonding. Such a procedure is undesirable, however,in that considerable time and effort is required to shape the trim stripto a contour corresponding to that of the mounted gasket and to attachthe strip to the gasket. Further, it is most difficult to achieveuniform lateral alignment between the trim and gasket along the lengthof the gasket. Considerable time may be spent attempting to achieve suchalignment, thus increasing the installation costs of such an assembly.Moreover, if proper alignment is not achieved the decorative appearanceof the assembly is somewhat less than desirable.

The foregoing disadvantages, and others, of gasket and trim assemblieshertofore known are overcome in accordance with the present invention byproviding a gasket and decorative trim assembly comprised of elongategasket means of resilient material including sealing means and which ismountable for the sealing means to sealingly engage underlying surfacemeans. Thedecorative trim means laterally overlies at least a portion ofthe outer surface of the gasket means and is substantiallylongitudinally coextensive with the gasket means. The gasket means andtrim means are provided with cooperable projection and recess meanswhich provide for interengagement thereof prior to mounting of theassembly and further provide for uniform lateral alignment therebetween.The cooperable projection and recess means provide for the gasket andtrim means to be interengaged within a small area therebetween relativeto the lateral widths thereof and in a manner whereby the structuralintegrity of the gasket means is retained and the trim means does notinterfere with the bending or flexing of the gasket means. Thus, thedesired bending, sealing and retention capabilities of the gasket areachieved regardless of the lateral width of the trim means relative tothe lateral width of the gasket means.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the gasket means isprovided with recess means and the trim means is provided withprojection means adapted to be introduced into the recess means andwhich, when so introduced, provides for the gasket means and trim meansto be interengaged in a manner whereby unintended separation of the trimmeans from the gasv ket means is restrained. Moreover, the location andsize of the recess means is such that the structural integrity of thegasket means is retained while at the same time the decorative trimmeans is interengaged therewith against unintended separation therefrom.Still further, the structural configuration of the recess means andprojection means by which the gasket means and trim means areinterengaged is such that the restraint against separation thereof isincreased when the assembly is in its mounted disposition.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the present invention, theprojection means extends longitudinally of the decorative trim means andis dimensionally small in the direction transversely of the trim means.Similarly, the recess means extends longitudinally of the gasket meansand is dimensionally small transversely of the gasket means. The recessand projections means accordingly provides cooperable interengagingmeans between the gasket means and trim means requiring only a smalltransverse area of the gasket means and trim means whereby thestructural integrity of the gasket means is not adversely affected andwhereby the transverse width of the trim means relative to thetransverse width of the gasket means can be varied as desired.

In accordance with yet a narrower aspect of the present invention thegasket means is mountable relative to a vehicle window opening and isoperable to retain a glass window panel in place relative to the openingand to seal the joint between the window panel and vehicle panel meansadjacent the opening. The interengaging slot and projection meansadvantageously provides for the structural integrity of the gasket meansto be retained so that the window panel is adquately retained againstoutward displacement from the window opening, and the space between thewindow pane and panel means of the vehicle is adequately sealed by thegasket means. At the same time, the cooperable recess and projectionmeans facilitates providing the gasket means with decorative trim meansto provide the vehicle window with a border which is decorative inappearance and which may have a width structurally independent of thewidth of the gasket means.

It is accordingly an outstanding object of the present invention toprovide a gasket and decorative trim assembly wherein gasket means anddecorative trim means are structurally associated in a manner wherebythe lateral dimensions of the gasket means and trim means areindependent of one another.

A further object is the provision of a gasket and decorative trim meansare structurally associated in a manner whereby uniform lateralalingment therebetween is assured.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gasket anddecorative trim assembly wherein gasket means and decorative trim meansare structurally associated in a manner whereby the lateral dimension ofthe trim means relative to the lateral dimension of the gasket meansdoes not interfere with the sealing and bendability functions of thegasket means.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a gasketand decorative trim assembly of the above character wherein gasket meansand decorative trim means are structurally associated in a mannerwhereby the strength characteristics of the gasket means are notadversely effected.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a gasket anddecorative trim assembly of the above character wherein the gasket meansand trim means are structurally interrelated in a manner whereby theycan be pre-assembled with one another and assembled as a unit relativeto underlying surface means.

Still a further object of the present invention is the provision of agasket, and decorative trim assembly wherein the gasket means anddecorative trim means are interengaged in an area thereof which, in thelateral directions thereof is considerably less than the lateraldimension of the trim means.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of a gasket anddecorative trim assembly of the above character wherein the gasket meansand decorative trim means are structurally interengaged in a mannerwhereby the gasket means is laterally bendable without the sealingcapability thereof being adversely effected.

Yet another object of the present invention is the provision of a gasketand decorative trim assembly of the above character in which the trimmeans and gasket means are structurally interrelated in a manner wherebythe gasket means clampingly engages a narrow longitudinally extendingportion of the trim means, whereby the area of the gasket meansunderlying portions of the trim means extending laterally outwardly fromthe narrow portion thereof is freely movable relative to the trim means.

The foregoing objects of the present invention will in part be obviousand in part more fully pointed out hereinafter in conjunction with thedescription of the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a vehicle and illustratinga gasket and decorative trim assembly of the present invention extendingabout the vehicle windshield;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevation taken along line 22 in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, in section, of a preferred embodiment of agasket and decorative trim assembly made in accordance with the presentinvention and in which the assembly is illustrated in an unmounteddisposition.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail wherein the showings arefor the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the presentinvention only and not for the purpose of limiting the same, a vehiclesuch as an automobile is illustrated in FIG. 1 having a glass windowpanel 12 mounted relative to a window opening bounded at the top andbottom edges thereof by vehicle panel means 14 and 16, respectively, andalong the sides thereof by vehicle panel means 18 and 20. Window panel12 is mounted relative to the window opening by a gasket and decorativetrim assembly 22 which extends peripherally about window panel '12.

The structural relationship between the window opening, window panel 12and gasket and decorative trim assembly 22 at the top of the windowopening is illustrated in FIG. 2, and it will be appreciated that thisstructural relationship exists about the entire periphery of the windowpanel. More particularly, the gasket and decorative trim assemblyincludes gasket means 24 of resilient material such as rubber anddecorative trim means 26. Gasket means 24 includes'sealing means 28 and30 adapted to sealingly engage underlying surface means defined in thisinstance by vehicle panel means 14 and window panel 12, respectively.Thus, the joint between panel means 14 and window panel 12 is sealedagainst the ingress of air, water, or the like therethrough. In theembodiment illustrated, gasket means 24 is provided with recess means 32adapted to receive the marginal edge of window panel 12, and recessmeans 34 adapted to receive flange means extending about the windowopening and by which the gasket means is mountable relative to theopening. The flange means defining the window opening may be provided inany desired manner and, as illustrated, may be defined by suitable sheetmetal bracket means having a portion 38 attached to vehicle panel means14 and a portion 40 projecting inwardly of the window opening andsubstantially parallel to window panel 12. Further, if desired, themounting flange means can be defined by extending the terminal end ofvehicle panel means 14 to define a flange portion 42 which is parallelto and coextensive with portion 40 of bracket means 36. It will beclearly understood, however, that any. suitable mounting flange meansfor the gasket and trim assembly could be provided.

The structure of gasket and decorative trim assembly 22 is bestillustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawing. In this respect, sealing means 28and 30 of gasket means 24 are in the form of flanges or lips 44 and 46,respectively, which project laterally outwardly from body portion 48 ofthe gasket means and extend longitudinally along opposite sides of thebody portion. Body portion 48 has a cross-sectional configuration whichprovides longitudinally extending leg means 50 and 52 interconnected inan area 54 therebetween so as to define longitudinal recessmeans 34 formounting the gasket means on flange means extending about a vehiclewindow openingas set forth hereinabove. It will be noted that legportions 50 and 52 have a normal disposition when the gasket means isnot mounted in which the leg portions extend toward one another so as tosubstantially close the entrance to recess means 34. This provides forlegs 50 and 52 to resiliently and clampingly engage the mounting flangemeans to insure tight interengagement therebetween. Flange or lip means46 and leg portion 50 extend from body portion 48 in a manner to definelongitudinal recess means 32 for window panel 12 as set forthhereinabove. In the unmounted disposition of gasket means 24, flangemeans 46 has a normal disposition in which it extends toward leg portion50 so as to substantially close the entrance to recess means 32. Thisstructural configuration provides for flange means 46 to be displacedforwardly of body portion 48 against the inherent resiliency of thegasket material to receive the window panel, whereby the resiliency ofthe gasket material biases flange means 46 to sealingly engage thecorresponding surface of the window panel. The inner end of recess means32 may be defined in part by arcuate corner means 56 and 58 which permitthe material of the gasket means to be flexed to receive window panel 12in a manner whereby the material of the gasket means adjacent thesecorners is not stressed to the extent that a rupture of the materialoccurs in these areas. Body portion 48 further is preferably providedwith a plurality of longitudinally extending rib elements 60 for sealingengagement with an opposed surface of the mounting flange means, andflange or lip means 44 is, of course, adapted to sealingly engage anunderlying surface defined, in-the embodiment illustrated, by metallicpanel means of the vehicle extending about the periphery of the windowopening. Flange means 44 is displaced forwardly of body portion 48 whenthe gasket means is mounted, against the inherent resiliency of thegasket material, whereby flange means 44 is biased into sealingengagement with the underlying surface means by the resiliency of thegasket material.

Mounting and sealing gasket means generally of the above character havebeen provided heretofore for the purpose of sealingly-engaging spacedapart underlying surface means such as that defined by a window paneland body panel of a vehicle. Such gasket components generally areconstructed of resilient material such as rubber having a durometerhardness which provides the resiliency necessary to achieve bending andflexing of the gasket during mounting thereof and at the same timeprovide adequate sealing engagement between the gasket means and theunderlying surface means. A gasket component having a durometer hardnessof fl on the Shore A scale, 15 second delay method, provides the desiredstructural and sealing characteristics. Other materials and rubber ofother hardnesses may, of course, be employed depending on suchconsiderations as the extent to which the gasket component must beflexed or bent in a direction lateral to the axis thereof. With regardin particular to the mounting and sealing of windshield panels, it isonly necessary to be sure that the material employed and the structuralconfiguration and integrity of the gasket means is sufficient to providefor approximately percent of the window panel to be retained in placerelative to the window opening in response to an impact forcethereagainst such as might result from a person being impelled intoengagement with the window panel during an accident.

As mentioned hereinbefore, in the mounting of a fixed window panelrelative to a vehicle body it is often desirable to provide the gasketmeans with decorative trim means so that the window panel is providedwith a border or the like which is decorative in appearance. Such adecorative appearance must, of course, be achieved without affecting thestructural integrity of the gasket component and without affecting thebending and sealing ability of the gasket component. Thus, in accordancewith the present invention, decorative trim means 26 and gasket means 24are adapted to be structurally interrelated or interengaged bycooperable projection and recess means 62 therebetween. In the preferredembodiment, projection and recess means 62 is defined by longitudinallyextending projection means 64 on trim means 26 and longitudinallyextending recess means 66 in gasket means 24. Preferably, the projectionmeans and recess means are longitudinally coextensive with thecorresponding trim and gasket means, but it will be appreciated that theprojection and recess means could be interrupted along the lengthsthereof. Projection means 64 and recess means 66 are cooperativelycontoured in cross section and, in this respect, are substantiallyT-shaped in cross-section. More particularly, recess means 66 includes anarrow entrance portion 68 extending inwardly of body portion 48 of thegasket means from outer surface 70 thereof. Entrance portion 68 hasopposed sides 72 which preferably are of arcuate contour. The innerportion of recess means 66 is laterally expanded relative to entranceportion 68 to define opposite sides 74 which are spaced apart a distancegreater than the distance between the entrance sides 72. Further, theinner end of recess means 66 is defined by wall portion 76 havingopposite ends merging with sides 74.

Projection means 64 is similar in cross-sectional contour to the contourof recess means 66. In this respect, projection means 64 includeslaterally projecting portions-80 disposed adjacent recess portions 74when the trim means and gasket means are in assembled relationship.Further, the inner end of projection means 64 is defined by wall portion82 similar in contour to wall portion 76 of recess means 66. Stillfurther, projection means 64 includes a narrow connecting portion 86 between the bottom surface 88 of trim means 26 and portions 80 of theprojection means. Connecting portion 86 includes opposite side surfaces90 which preferably have an arcuate contour corresponding substantiallyto the contour of opposite sides 72 of entrance portion 68 of recessmeans 66.

Gasket means 24 and decorative trim means 26 can be assembled orinterengaged in any suitable manner such as by the use of a tooloperable to spread the entrance to recess means 66 so as to permitportions 80 of projection means 64 to move therepast. Further, it willbe appreciated that the components can be assembled by introducingprojection means 64 longitudinally into recess means 66. Preferably,prior to mounting of the gasket and decorative trim assembly relative toa window opening, the cross-sectional contours of the projection meansand recess means is such that there is a slight spacing between recessentrance side portions 72 and the corresponding opposed surfaces 90 ofconnecting portion 86 and between recess sides 74 and portions 80 ofprojection means 64. Upon mounting of the gasket and trim assemblyrelative to a vehicle window opening flange portions 44 and 46 of thegasket means are displaced forwardly as mentioned hereinabove, and suchdisplacement causes wall portions 72 and sides 74 of the recess means tomove in a direction tending to narrow the entrance whereby wall portions72, preferably, tightly engage the corresponding one of the surfaces ofthe projection means. Such engagement further enhances the cooperativeinterengagement of the gasket means and trim means against unintendedseparation thereof. Preferably, bottom surface 88 of trim means 26 iscontoured such that outer surface 70 of the gasket means engagestherewith when the assembly is mounted giving the appearance that thetrim means is integral with the gasket means.

It is to be noted that recess means 66 is located substantiallycentrally relative to the lateral dimension of body portion 48 of gasketmeans 24. This provides for retaining the structural integrity of thegasket means necessary to assure retention of the window panel therebyand sealing engagement of the sealing means thereof with underlyingsurface means defined by the window panel and vehicle body panel means.Further, it will be appreciated that the projection means in beingcontoured to substantially laterally fill the recess means defines acore like element extending along the gasket means to preventconstriction of the gasket material in this area in response to aforward movement of the corresponding marginal edge of a window panelsuch as might occur in response to an impact against the inner surfaceof the window panel. By preventing constriction of the gasket materialsubstantially centrally of body portion 48 any tendency for the windowpanel to be displaced forwardly and out of recess means 32 in the gasketmeans as a result of such constriction is advantageously restrained.

The portion of trim means 26 exposed relative to outer surface 70 ofgasket means 24 may be of any desired cross-sectional configuration andlateral width. A preferred structure of the trim means is illustrated inFIG. 3. In this respect, trim means 26 includes a body portion 92 of avinyl polymeric material, preferably polyvinyl chloride, having anarcuately contoured outer surface 94. The trim means is provided with adecorative appearance which may, for example, be defined by a thin film96 of metal foil'or of metallized clear polyethylene terephthalatesuitably secured to outer surface 94 such as by adhesive bonding.Further, a protective film of clear plastic material 98 such aspolyvinyl chloride preferably overlies film 96. Thus, the metal foil orthe metallized surface of the polyethylene terephthalate is visible toprovide the trim means with the appearance of a metal strip. Preferably,body portion 92 of trim means 26 is integral with projection means 64.This structure facilitates production of trim means 26 by an extrusionprocess. In order for body portion 92 to adequately support film 96against wrinkling or crazing upon bending of the gasket and trimstructure the vinyl material of the body portion preferably has adurometer hardness of between 89 to on the Shore A scale, 15 seconddelay method. It will be appreciated therefore that the trim strip is ofa hardness much greater than that of the gasket.

It is to be noted that the only area of interconnection between gasketmeans 24 and trim means 26 is the narrow area defined by projectionmeans 64 and recess means 66. Thus, the lateral width of the exposedportion of trim means 26 can vary as desired relative to the overalllateral width of the gasket means. For example, trim means 26 couldreadily be extended laterally in either direction relative to projectionmeans 64 such as indicated by broken lines 100 in FIG. 3. It will beappreciated that if the trim means and gasket means were interconnectedsuch as by adhesive bonding or other interconnection means involving aconsiderable lateral area therebetween, that lateral flexibility of thegasket means would be decreased, whereby the sealing ability thereofwould be disadvantageously reduced. Conversely, the inter-engagingrelationship between the gasket means and trim means in accordance withthe present invention provides for trim means to be employed having anydesired lateral dimension relative to that of a given gasket or,alternatively, the use of a' gasket having a narrower lateral dimensionthan heretofore possible for trim means having a given lateraldimension. This is possible in accordance with the present inventionbecause the entire lateral areas between the trim means and gasket meansto either side of the narrow area of connection therebetween are free tomove relative to one another.

With regard to specific dimensions of the gasket means and trim means,it will be appreciated that the dimensions will vary in accordance withthe use to which the assembly is put, the extent to which the assemblymust be laterally flexed or bent and the degree of sealing engagementdesired between thegasket means and underlying surface means. In anyevent, however, it will be appreciated that recess means 66 will have across sectional contour small enough to prevent an undesirable loss ofstructural integrity for'the gasket means, that the entranceportionthereof will be narrow enough to assure the desired retention ofthe projection means relative to the gasket means when the assembly isin its mounted disposition, and that the lateral width of connectingportion 86 of the trim means will be sufficient to prevent tearing ofbody portion 92 from the inner portion of the projection means. Asexempletive of such dimensional relationships in the embodimentillustrated, the gasket has an overall lateral width of approximately1.16 inches, body portion 48 has a lateral width of approximately 0.25inch, recess sides 74 have a normal lateral width of approximately 0.26inch, entrance walls 72 are normally spaced apart approximately 0.08inches and the recess has a depth inwardly of surface 70 ofapproximately 0.16 inch. Fur- 'ther, the areas of the gasket definingthe entrance portion of the recess means have dimensions A, asillustrated in FIG. 3, of approximately 0.08 inch, flange 44 has adimension in the area B of approximately 0.09 inch and flange 46 has adimension in the area C of approximately 0.11 inch. The dimensions inthe areas B and C assure that structural integrity of the, gasket isretained in these areas. It will be appreciated, of course,

' that these dimensions may vary somewhat and that the correspondingdimensions of different gasket and trim assemblies will vary dependingon the particular structures and uses thereof. It will be furtherappreciated from the foregoing exempletive dimensions that the lateralarea of connection between the gasket means and trim means is quitesmall in comparison to the total lateral width of the gasket.

While the preferred embodiment of the present invention has beendescribed herein in conjunction with a specific structure for thegasket, means and trim means and with regard to a specific configurationfor the interengaging projection and recess means between the gasketmeans and trim means, it will be appreciated that these structuralcharacteristics are merely illustrative of preferred embodiments. Manypossible embodiments of the present invention may be made and manypossible changes may be made in the embodiment herein set forth.Accordingly, it is to be distinctly understood that the foregoingdescriptive matter is to be interpreted merely as illustrative of thepresent invention and not as a limitation.

I claim:

1. A gasket and decorative trim strip assembly, comprising an elongategasket of rubber and a decorative trim strip of plastic material, saidgasket being mountable on underlying support means and having an outersurface and a T-shaped recess longitudinally coextensive therewith, saidrecess having an inner portion and an entrance thereto from said outersurface, said entrance having laterally opposed sides spaced apart afirst distance, said recess having a depth in the direction from saidouter surface of about twice said first distance, said inner portion ofsaid recess having a depth in said direction about equal to said firstdistance and a lateral width of about three times said first distance,said trim strip having a body portion overlying said outer surface ofsaid gasket and T-shaped projection means extending from said bodyportion and including a first portion disposed between said opposedsides of said entrance and a second portion extending laterally of saidfirst portion and disposed in said inner portion of said recess, saidprojection means having an area in cross section less than that of saidrecess for said first and second portions of said projection means'to bespaced from the respective opposed sides of said entrance and surfacesof said inner portion of said recess, said gasket including sealingflanges extending laterally with respect to said recess and rearwardlywith respect to said outer surface of said gasket for sealing engagementwith corresponding underlying surface means when said gasket is mountedon underlying support means, said sealing flanges being displacedforwardly upon engagement with said underlying surface means to displacesaid opposed sides of said entrance towards engagement with said firstportion of said projection means to engage said first portiontherebetween.

2. A gasket and decorative trim strip assembly for mounting a fixedwindow panel of a vehicle relative to frame means defining the windowopening comprising: an elongate gasket of rubber mountable on said framemeans including'a first recess for receiving a marginal edge of a windowpane, a first sealing flange to sealingly engage a surface of saidwindow pane and a second sealing flange to sealingly engage surfacemeans of said vehicle laterally separate from said marginal edge of saidwindow pane, said gasket further including an outer surface and a secondrecess longitudinally coextensive therewith, said second recess havingan inner portion and an entrance thereto from said outer surface, saidentrance having laterally opposed sides spaced apart a first distance,said second recess having a depth in the direction from said outersurface of about twice said first distance, said inner portion of saidsecond recess having a depth in said direction about equal to said firstdistance and a lateral width of about three times said first distance,said assembly further including a trim strip of plastic material havinga body portion overlying said outer surface of said gasket andprojection means extending from said body portion and including a firstportion disposed between said opposed sides of said entrance and asecond portion extending laterally from said first portion and disposedin said inner portion of second said recess, said projection meanshaving an area in cross section less than that of said second recess forsaid first and second portions of said projection means to be spacedfrom the respective opposed sides of said entrance and surfaces of saidinner portion of said second recess, said first and second sealingflanges of said gasket extending laterally of said second recess andrearwardly of said outer surface of said gasket for engagement with thecorresponding one of said surfaces of said window pane and vehicle whensaid gasket is mounted, said first and second sealing flanges beingdisplaced forwardly by said engageclaim 2, wherein said body portion ofsaid trim strip has a contoured outer surface carrying decorative filmmeans.

1. A gasket and decorative trim strip assembly, comprising an elongategasket of rubber and a decorative trim strip of plastic material, saidgasket being mountable on underlying support means and having an outersurface and a T-shaped recess longitudinally coextensive therewith, saidrecess having an inner portion and an entrance thereto from said outersurface, said entrance having laterally opposed sides spaced apart afirst distance, said recess having a depth in the direction from saidouter surface of about twice said first distance, said inner portion ofsaid recess having a depth in said direction about equal to said firstdistance and a lateral width of about three times said first distance,said trim strip having a body portion overlying said outer surface ofsaid gasket and T-shaped projection means extending from said bodyportion and including a first portion disposed between said opposedsides of said entrance and a second portion extending laterally of saidfirst portion and disposed in said inner portion of said recess, saidprojection means having an area in cross section less than that of saidrecess for said first and second portions of said projection means to bespaced from the respective opposed sides of said entrance and surfacesof said inner portion of said recess, said gasket including sealingflanges extending laterally with respect to said recess and rearwardlywith respect to said outer surface of said gasket for sealing engagementwith corresponding underlying surface means when said gasket is mountedon underlying support means, said sealing flanges being displacedforwardly upon engagement with said underlying surface means to displacesaid opposed sides of said entrance towards engagement with said firstportion of said projection means to engage said first portiontherebetween.
 2. A gasket and decorative trim strip assembly formounting a fixed window panel of a vehicle relative to frame meansdefining the window opening comprising: an elongate gasket of rubbermountable on said frame means including a first recess for receiving amarginal edge of a window pane, a first sealing flange to sealinglyengage a surface of said window pane and a second sealing flange tosealingly engage surface means of said vehicle laterally separate fromsaid marginal edge of said window pane, said gasket further including anouter surface and a second recess longitudinally coextensive therewith,said second recess having an inner portion and an entrance thereto fromsaid outer surface, said entrance having laterally opposed sides spacedapart a first distance, said second recess having a depth in thedirection from said outer surface of abOut twice said first distance,said inner portion of said second recess having a depth in saiddirection about equal to said first distance and a lateral width ofabout three times said first distance, said assembly further including atrim strip of plastic material having a body portion overlying saidouter surface of said gasket and projection means extending from saidbody portion and including a first portion disposed between said opposedsides of said entrance and a second portion extending laterally fromsaid first portion and disposed in said inner portion of second saidrecess, said projection means having an area in cross section less thanthat of said second recess for said first and second portions of saidprojection means to be spaced from the respective opposed sides of saidentrance and surfaces of said inner portion of said second recess, saidfirst and second sealing flanges of said gasket extending laterally ofsaid second recess and rearwardly of said outer surface of said gasketfor engagement with the corresponding one of said surfaces of saidwindow pane and vehicle when said gasket is mounted, said first andsecond sealing flanges being displaced forwardly by said engagement, andsaid forward displacement of said first and second sealing flangesdisplacing said opposed sides of said entrance of said second recesslaterally inwardly to engage said first portion of said projection meanstherebetween.
 3. The gasket and trim strip assembly according to claim2, wherein said body portion of said trim strip has a contoured outersurface carrying decorative film means.